Office of the Historian

893.01/617

The Secretary of State to President Roosevelt

[Washington,] January 30, 1940.

Memorandum for the President

Reference aide-mémoire handed to you January 27 by the Chinese Ambassador in company with Dr. W. W. Yen, and your query whether there is any need to do anything in reply.

It is our judgment that the aide-mémoire does not call for a reply. The only matters discussed in the aide-mémoire not mentioned in recent communications to you from General Chiang Kai-shek are: (1) the terms reputedly agreed to between Mr. Wang Ching-wei and the Japanese, and (2) General Chiang’s request that this Government make known its attitude toward the projected Wang Ching-wei regime. No reply specifically on the question of the first point would seem to be needed. The question whether this Government should make some sort of declaration in regard to the projected Wang regime is being given careful study in the Department. It is believed that while a statement by the President would not seem to be called for, a statement by the Secretary of State, perhaps in the form of a formal reservation of rights, may probably be found advisable some time in the course of the development of this situation. The Department will continue to give careful attention to this matter.

The original of the aide-mémoire and the text of the reputed agreement of December 30, 1939, between Wang Ching-wei and the Japanese61 are returned herewith.

  1. Latter not printed.↩